"God Hears The Repentant Word" Series

And of course this sounds harsh to us, that a man sitting on a gilded chair could simply refrain from extending his scepter in welcome and a nearby soldier would take that as a silent command to use his sword.

But if you think about it, if our President was moving from vehicle to building, or down a White House hallway and one of us who just happened to be in proximity suddenly walked toward him beginning to reach out a hand, we would quickly find ourselves flattened under the bodies of a half a dozen Secret Service Agents, unless one of them was such an inexperienced rookie that he panicked and shot us dead on the spot.

Adding another shade, if you will, to this mental image we’re drawing, that would make it more closely resemble this Biblical picture in Hosea 14, it is not a stranger approaching the king, it is not a citizen finding himself in the position of needing to conduct business or receive an award or make a presentation.

It is more like a man who has publicly denounced the king, threatened his safety, ridiculed his precepts, ignored his decrees, now coming to seek audience with this self same potentate to ask for pardon.

And I would submit for your consideration today, that we are seldom conscious of, and even lack the ability to truly comprehend the gravity of, the utter annihilation we would deserve and undoubtedly receive when stepping into the presence of God were it not for His compassion and His extended scepter of grace.

And I have to seriously doubt the veracity of people who write books or articles or go on the radio or television and make claims to having been brought into the presence of God in a vision, or waking to finding Him standing in their room to give them a message to share or endow them with some special spiritual gift or whatever; and they talk of it as though it was just such a blessing and they were just so lifted up and encouraged and empowered for service and all sorts of other claims that make them appear to be just oh, so spiritual and privileged.

I say I have to wonder at these claims when I think about people in the Bible who found themselves face to face with an appearance of the Lord and couldn’t even stand on their feet – who said, ‘Woe is me for I am undone’, as in the case of Isaiah, or Gideon who cried, ‘Alas, O Lord God! For now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face’, and the Lord had to reassure him, saying, “Peace to you, do not fear, you shall not die’ and the parents of Samson, who, at the announcement of his impending birth fell on their faces in fear before the Lord.

People, it is true that we are invited to come with confidence to the throne of grace to find mercy to help in time of need.

It is true that having been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand…”

It is true that we have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’

But let’s be reminded that the One who has made peace with us; the One we are graciously invited to approach is the One of whom the Psalmist confessed: “My flesh trembles for fear of You; and I am afraid of Your judgments” Ps 119:120, and of whom the prophet declared, “The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, and the LORD will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. In whirlwind and storm is His way, and clouds are the dust beneath His feet.” Nahum 1:3